'The Tomorrow People': Robbie Amell on 'biggest fight scene to date'

The Tomorrow People has already given us a season full of twists, turns, and telepathic abilities — and it isn’t over yet. Tonight, the show moves to its new time slot for the final seven episodes of season 1 — and it sounds like things are only going to get crazier.

We caught up with star Robbie Amell to talk about everything from tonight’s romantic action to the war looming ahead. Spoiler: He has some stuff to say about “f— buddies.”

ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY: Okay, so the last episode ended with Stephen finding some sort of thingamajig. What can you tell me about that, and where Stephen goes in this last stretch of episodes?

ROBBIE AMELL: I use the little piece of whatever I found in the final scene of episode 16, and what it brings me to really, really kicks off the beginning of the end of season 1. Episode 16 is very cool; you get to see a different side of what you could do with your powers, kind of like Kick-Ass. You find a superhero who’s using her powers for good, and she really inspires Russell and Stephen, and they see what the other side of this world could be. And it’s a nice, lighter, more fun episode that really ends with the catalyst for the next six. The journey from episode 17 to 22 is just on another level than the rest of the season. I’m a huge fan of our show, I’m totally biased, but I think that we have been consistently getting better and better as the show gets on. Like any TV show, we’ve had stronger and weaker episodes, but I think that 17 through 22 are our strongest episodes by a large margin. I really think that they put us in a different league.

Personally, I’m super super excited for Jedekiah-Roger flashbacks.

Oh, then you’re going to really love the next few episodes.

You mentioned this next episode being more lighthearted. Based on this promo, it’s essentially one giant sexcapade.

Yeah, more lighthearted. [Laughs] That’s all I’m gonna say… and violence, and action.

But what is up with Stephen and Hillary? I don’t know how to feel about it.

Well look — they’re not setting the date or anything. But you know, they’re a couple of 18-, 19-year-old kids who are living in this scary, high-octane, high-stakes, life-or-death world, and they had to blow off some steam. Cara is back with John, or so it looks like, and Stephen’s got this new sexy partner who he kind of hates a little bit. And they’ve become — I have no other term than to say they’ve become f— buddies. [Laughs] I don’t even know what else to say. They’ve become toys for each other’s amusement. There’s definite trust issues there, because she did try and kill Astrid, and he doesn’t really know where she stands. But you learn more about Hillary that kind of makes you understand why she is the way she is, and Stephen kind of breaks that wall down a little bit.

I’ve been told that every shipper will have a favorite episode coming up…

Yes, for sure.

So what can you tease about Stephen and Cara?

What’s very cool is, because Stephen is now hooking up with Hillary, it’s only a matter of time before Cara finds out because they have this telepathic connection. And it’s very interesting to see Cara on the other side of the love triangle, her being a little jealous of Stephen hooking up with someone else. You don’t really know if she’s mad about it because Hillary is one of the Ultra agents and technically the enemy, or if there’s more to it than that. You get to see some more John and Astrid scenes, not necessarily love-interest scenes, but they spend a little more time together, which is great. Everybody has scenes with everybody else in their love triangles. They’re really dabbling on that. But [episodes] 16 and 17, we kind of steer away from the love triangles because 16 is this calm before the storm that is our final 6 episodes, and then [in] 17, Cassandra’s back. I talked to the writers about it – I was always pissed off when Cassandra saved Stephen’s life and he just walks away from it. He doesn’t help her because he can’t, but it’s just so against everything that Stephen stands for in the first 15 episodes. So a nice thing is, Stephen gets a chance to return the favor and help protect and save Cassandra, and that really leads to a massive showdown in 17 with one of the biggest fight scenes we’ve had so far this year.

Speaking of which, the Marla twist is still my favorite thing so far…

Oh, we’ve got bigger twists than that coming.

I’m always happy to hear that! But what about this idea that Stephen is a synergist? We haven’t really explored what that could mean. Moving forward, are we going to delve into this and see what he’s really made of?

Absolutely. That was one of the other things I talked to them about, I was like, “I’m tired of getting my ass kicked. I’m supposed to be this really strong Tomorrow Person. I can stop time but obviously have no idea how to use it, so when am I going to become this badass I’m supposed to be?” That really kicks off in episode 17. I have my biggest fight scene to date. John and I take on about 6 or 7 elite Ultra agents, and then for some of the last few episodes, you really get to see me training hard and honing my abilities. I have my Rocky moment, and it’s a very surprising person who takes me under their wing and teaches me how to use these powers. But it’s ultimately leading up to me doing things with my powers that nobody has seen on the show yet.

I also want to touch on this idea that Phil Klemmer talked to me about, where Roger might have been killed for legitimate reasons. Is that a fair statement?

Definitely, and it’s setting up what will be a scary moment. Everything’s leading up to bringing my dad back. If he comes back and I found out that he shouldn’t be back, he should’ve stayed gone, then everything I’ve been working for is more than likely going to be taken away from me again. But anything we’ve learned over the first 15, 16 episodes is that Stephen doesn’t exactly follow guidelines or rules and always puts family first, so I think that he’ll probably find a way to try and save everyone. Nobody has to be sacrificed for anyone else.